Denture structure and method of making



June 30, 1970 AL F. HOLLEY 3,517,443

DENTURE STRUCTURE AND METHOD OF MAKING Filed Sept. 23, 1968 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Fig. I

Fig. 2

A/ E Holley INVENTOK.

BY M

June 30, 1970 AL F. HOLLEY DENTURE STRUCTURE AND METHOD OF MAKING 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Sept. 23, 1968 Resih'enf Tmh Al F. Holley INVENTOR. aafiam M, :2

Attorney:

United States Patent Int. Cl. A61c 13/00 US. Cl. 32-2 11 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A construction for dentures employing rebound or elastically displaceable teeth at the rear of the upper and lower plates so that contact is made thereby first, before the front bite, forcing the person to chew more naturally with the rear bite. This rear bite is further enhanced by the formation of the lingual flange to extend below the alveolar ridge and fill a portion of the lingual cavity adjacent the denture.

Heretofore, the problems associated with dentures were associated with the improper front bite, wherein the front teeth of the upper and lower dentures make contact first, which results in improper mastication of food and also tends to loosen the dentures from the alveolar ridge thereby causing irritation of the ridge and embarrassment due to the loose dentures. Some dentures have teeth which are provided with resilient mounting between the cap and the denture which gives some relief, but the problem is not completely solved since the plates cannot be made to anchor firmly enough to the alveolar ridge to sustain the pivoting of the upper teeth about the rear of the lower denture.

The present invention relates to an improved denture structure whereby elastically displaceable resilient teeth are inserted in the rear of the denture plates to provide the first point of contact of the opposed dentures and a relative pivot point therebetween. Further, an improved method of forming the oral lining is provided whereby the lingual flange can be extended downwardly into the lingual cavity to fill the indentation between the lingual flange and the bottom of the lingual cavity. This then prevents the accumulation of food, during mastication, from getting under the lingual flange and prying the denture upward, or loose, from the alveolar ridge. It is therefore an object of this invention to provide a dental structure wherein the first contact between opposed dentures is at the rear or back bite portion thereof.

It is a further object of this invention to provide a lower denture wherein the lingual flange extends below the alveolar ridge to prevent relative movement therebetween.

It is a further object of this invention to provide opposed dentures wherein the first contact between the op posed dentures are resilient teeth positioned in the back bite portion of the dentures.

It is a still further object of this invention to provide a structure for providing extended lingual flanges on dentures by extending the oral lining downwardly into the lingual cavity.

These together with other objects and advantages which will become subsequently apparent reside in the details of construction and operation as more fully hereinafter described and claimed, reference being bad to the accompanying drawings forming a part hereof, wherein like numerals refer to like parts throughout, and in which:

FIG. 1 is a side elevational view of an opposed pair of dentures at the initial contact point between the resilient teeth.

FIG. 2 is a view similar to FIG. 1 after compression 3,517,443. Patented June 30, 1970 of the resilient teeth so that complete contact between the opposed dentures has occurred.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken substantially along the line 3-3 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is a side elevational view of a pair of opposed dentures.

FIG. 5 is an enlarged sectional view taken substantially along the line 5-5 of FIG. 4.

FIG. 6 is a plan view of the lingual tape used to form the extended lingual flange.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of one form of the resilient teeth.

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of another form of the resilient teeth used in the instant invention.

FIG. 9 is a sectional view showing the tooth of FIG. 8 installed on a denture.

Referring now to the drawings, numeral 10 designates the upper denture and numeral 12 the lower denture, with numeral 14 indicating the resilient rebound teeth and numeral 16 the tape installation for molding and extending the lingual flange.

The upper denture 10 has a denture base 18 comprised of the usual materials, acrylic for example, which is hard and rigid with a resilient tooth 14 inserted in the first bicuspid position indicated at 20 in FIG. 4. To facilitate the installation of the tooth in this position a peg 22 is firmly fixed in the denture base 18 and extends downwardly with an enlarged end 24 to insure firm gripping between the peg 22 and the tooth 14 which has an opening 25 therein similar to the peg 22 to insure a firm connection. The tooth 14 is structured of resilient or elastically deformable material in the general configuration of the bicuspid and extends slightly below the adjoining canine and second bicuspid or occlusal plane as more clearly seen in FIG. 1. The installation of a first bicuspid of resilient structure is carried out on the right and left sides of the upper denture to provide for uniform first engagement between the upper and lower dentures.

The lower denture 12 is, naturally, constructed as the upper denture with a denture base 26 with the teeth embedded therein. In the lower denture 12 the resilient teeth are again located in the rear portion or posterior teeth, comprising the bicuspids and molars, with the resilient teeth being located in the first molar positions, as indicated at 28. The resilient tooth 14 is held in the first molar position precisely the same way as the upper first bicuspid in that a peg 22 is affixed in the denture base 26 with an enlarged end 24 thereon. The resilient tooth 14 is shaped, in this case, like that of a first molar with a cavity therein to conform to the peg and enlarged end so that a secure grip therebetween will be accomplished. As in the resilient upper first bicuspid, the resilient lower first molar extends slightly above the adjoining second bicuspid and second molar so that it will provide the first point of contact between the upper and lower dentures. With these teeth constructed of resilient material and arranged as set forth hereinabove, that is, the upper first bicuspids and the lower first molar-s, when the jaws are moved together the first point of contact between the upper and lower dentures are the two resilient teeth which project slightly above the plane of occlusion on each side of the rear portion of the bite as shown in FIGS. 1 and 4 thus providing a resilient but firm pressure of the denture base into engagement with the alveolar ridge which not only assures firm contact between the ridge and denture but also assures good contact between the upper and lower portions of the rear bit or posterior teeth to get complete mastication of the food. With the first contact between the plates being concentrated in the aforementioned rear portion of the bites of the upper and lower dentures the unwanted and annoying first contact in the front bite is avoided, which contact normally loosens the dentures on the alveolar ridge. After the dentures are thereby properly seated, normal occlusion occurs between the rigid teeth of the dentures as shown in FIG. 2.

An alternative form of the resilient tooth 14 is shown in FIGS. 8 and 9 wherein the resilient tooth 30 has a rigid cylindrical insert 32 in the lower surface thereof where it contacts the denture material. The rigid cylindrical insert has a threaded opening 34 extending therein which cooperates with a threaded pin 36 extending upwardly from the denture base 26. This provides an alternative method of holding the resilient teeth in the denture base, which ultimately would allow a person to have replacements for the resilient teeth, thereby lessening the occasions on which a patient would have to go to the dentist, for care and maintenance of the dentures.

To insure that the lower denture remains in place, and the maximum benefit is derived from the installation of the resilient teeth in the upper and lower dentures, it is proposed to extend the lingual flange down below the lower denture base 26 so as to extend into the lingual cavity. In FIG. the normal lingual flange 40 is shown in crosssection at the first molar position on the lower jaw. Thus a denture base formed in the usual manner leaves an indentation or extension of the lingual cavity, substantially under the lingual flange, as shown at 42. Thus when masticating, food can work into this indentation 42 and exert pressure upwardly against the lower edge of the lingual flange so as to pry the denture loose from the alveolar ridge, indicated at 44. This indentation 42 not only is a source of annoyance in that it can loosen the denture, it also forms a collecting point for masticated food which can decay and add to the denture problems. To facilitate the filling of the indentation 42 the lingual lining tape 16 is presented in arcuate sections such as shown in FIG. 6. Each arcuate section has an adhesive top section 46 which is adapted to be adhered to the lingual flange 40 of a denture base near the top thereof in the rear portion of the bite. The tape 16 has a series of arcuate lines 48 drawn thereacross to facilitate the trimming of the tape to suit different sized lingual flanges required for different sized mouths. With the tape glued in place on the denture base as shown in the right of FIG. 5, the oral lining material 50 is inserted between the denture base and the alveolar ridge and with pressure exerted therebetween the oral lining material will flow out and fill the gap between the lingual flange and the tape 16 so as to produce an extension 52 of the lingual flange which is made of the oral lining material to insure comfort when the denture is seated on the alveolar ridge. The extension of the lingual flange is shown on the right side of the jaw looking at FIG. 5, to contrast with the normal left side thereof which has no flange extension, it being understood that the extension of the lingual flange would be accomplished on both sides of the lower denture plate to thereby preclude any movement of the lower denture and concentrate the pressure exerted by the resilient tooth installations discussed hereinabove, in the vertical direction thus assuring firm contact between the denture base 26 and the alveolar ridge 44. When the oral lining material has set, forming the cushion between the denture and the alveolar ridge and the extension of the lingual flange, the tape may be removed thereby leaving the cushion and flange extension in position properly formed and ready for use.

With the denture structure as proposed herein, it can be seen that a relatively simple structure produces a denture that eliminates the area in which the majority of denture problems occur, that is, improper contact of the masticating area of the bite and loosening or movement of the lower denture because of initial improper seating of the denture base on the alveolar ridge. The two resilient teeth installed in the upper and lower dentures in the area of the bicuspids and molars thus accomplishes the aforementioned first contact prior to normal occlusion and assures that the masticating surface formed by the posterior teeth, meet or occlude properly to assure complete mastication. Further, the extension of the lingual flange as proposed herein assures that the lower denture cannot move relative to the alveolar ridge thereby concentrating the pressure gained by the resilient teeth in a plane perpendicular to the alveolar ridge and thereby insure that no movement will occur. The structure as proposed herein can be back-fitted to existing dentures aswell as incorporated in new articles of manufacture with a minimum of problem.

What is claimed as new is as follows:

1. An artificial denture comprising a rigid denture base, rigid artificial teeth mounted by the base having contact surfaces substantially defining an occlusal plane spaced from the base, at least two elastically displaceable teeth, and means mounting the elastically displaceable teeth on the base projecting therefrom beyond the occlusal plane for initial contact prior to occlusal contact of the rigid teeth.

2. The combination of claim 1 wherein said elastically displaceable teeth are symmetrically spaced in posterior positions between the rigid teeth.

3. The combination of claim 2 wherein said mounting means comprises rigid formations on the base enclosed by the elastically displaceable teeth which are made of elastically deformable material.

4. The combination of claim 3 wherein the denture base is molded to the lower alveolar ridge and said posterior positions are first molar positions.

5. The combination of claim 2. wherein the denture base is molded to the lower alveolar ridge and said posterior positions are first molar positions.

6. The combination of claim 1 wherein said mounting means comprises rigid formations on the base enclosed by the elastically displaceable teeth which are made of elastically deformable material.

7. The combination of claim 1 wherein said denture base is molded to the upper ridge and palate and said elastically displaceable teeth are symmetrically spaced in first bicuspid positions on the base.

8 In combination, upper and lower artificial dentures adapted to be seated on the upper and lower oral ridges of a person, each of said dentures comprising a rigid denture base, rigid artificial teeth mounted by the base having contact surfaces substantially defining an occlusal plane spaced from the base, at least two elastically displaceable teeth and means mounting the elastically displaceable teeth on the base projecting therefrom beyond the occlusal plane, said rebound teeth of the upper denture occupying posterior positions different from the posterior positions occupied by the elastically displaceable teeth of the lower denture to obtain contact between the rigid and the elastically displaceable teeth prior to occlusal contact between the rigid teeth in the occlusal plane.

9. An artificial denture adapted to be seated on the lower alveolar ridge of a person, comprising a rigid denture base, rigid artificial teeth mounted by the base havmg contact surfaces substantially defining an occlusal plane spaced from the base, at least two elastically displaceable teeth, and means mounting the elastically displaceable teeth on the base projecting therefrom beyond the occlusal plane, said base having a lingual flange and an extension thereof molded to the alveolar ridge and lingual cavity.

10. The device of claim 9 wherein said extension of the lingual flange is composed of an oral lining material extending between the base and the alveolar ridge and into the lingual cavity.

11. A method of improving an existing denture having a lingual flange molded to the alveolar ridge, comprising the steps: attaching a downwardly extending tape to the lingual flange, placing a settable lining material between the alveolar ridge and the denture, pressing the denture onto the alveolar ridge causing the lining material to flow into the lingual cavity between the denture and the tape, and removing the tape after the lining material has set.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,924,265 8/1933 Wharton 32-2 1,947,026 2/1934 Wharton 32-2 2,043,742 6/ 1936 Fleischman 32-2 6 2,770,880 11/ 1956 Sherrod 32-2 3,241,238 3/1966 Kersten 32-2 3,327,392 6/1967 Crow 1. 32-2 ROBERT PESHOCK, Primary Examiner US. Cl. X.R. 32-8 

